Volleyball Falls in Three

Friday, October 21

Brookings. S.D.

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

3-18, 2-7

Denver

15-6, 7-2

Denver

South Dakota State

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

10/21/2016 9:32:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Senior Ashley Beaner led the South Dakota State volleyball team's offense despite falling 25-17, 25-18 and 25-21 to Denver Thursday night in Summit League action in front of 302 fans in Frost Arena.

With the loss, the Jackrabbits drop to 3-18 overall and 2-7 in Summit League play, while Denver improves to 15-6 and 7-2.
"I thought we played really well. We came out and executed early. We served very aggressively to get them out of system, and at the end of the day they just had more attackers to split our defense more," second-year head coach Nicole Cirillo said. "I thought we fought and played very well overall."

Beaner had a match-high 14 kills while freshman Makenzie Hennen added 8 kills and hit .353 for the match. Junior Ellie Benson had a match-high 16 digs.
Emma Willis and Kayla Principato led Denver with eight kills each. Monique Domme had a double-double with 17 set assists and 12 digs.

In the first set, SDSU had a 5-3 lead before the Pioneers tied the match with kills from Principato and Ruth Okoye. The teams recorded seven more ties until Denver ran off four-straight kills to take a 17-13 lead. The Jacks got as close as 18-15 on a Beaner kill, but the Pioneers used an 8-4 run to win the set.

South Dakota State trailed 14-13 after a Hennen kill and a pair of Denver errors, but the Pioneers scored the next eight of nine points to take a 22-14 lead. The Jackrabbits outscored Denver 4-3 down the stretch, but it wasn't enough for the win.

The Jackrabbits played catch-up in the third set, trailing 17-11 early. A 5-0 fueled by kills from Beaner and freshman Ashlynn Smith, two Denver errors and a block by Smith and senior Nazya Thies brought the Jacks within one, 17-16.

SDSU was within one again after sophomore Sierra Peterson and senior Brooke Leetham had a block to make it 21-20. Denver got a pair of kills and a service ace from Willis to fuel a 4-1 run to win the match.

Up Next
The Jackrabbits return to action Sunday when they play at IUPUI at 2 p.m.
For more information on the South Dakota State volleyball team, follow the Jackrabbits on Twitter (@GoJacksVB) or like South Dakota State Volleyball on Facebook.

-GoJacks.com-